Letters to the editor dated June 7, 2021

With reference to news report ‘Delhi rolls out new campaign to get people vaccinated at their polling booths’ (June 7), it was interesting to learn about the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s ambitious game plan to start door-to-door vaccination in the national capital and vaccinating all people above 45 years of age at their polling booth level in the coming four weeks, under his government’s ‘Jahan Vote, Wahan Vaccination’ campaign from today. But what is the rationale behind vaccinating the targeted group at the polling booths given that not many people are coming to the vaccination centres. But, how would the Delhi government persuade them to visit their polling booths in preference to the designated vaccination centres across the national capital? While a team of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) visiting every house in the next two days and give a slot for vaccination, may perhaps come handy but the moot question is: Will it so happen at the ground zero?

Panchkula (Haryana)

The G-7 has made a good start in corporate tax reform with a global minimum threshold. An age-old tax regime for allocating profits to different jurisdictions was being exploited by tech companies in globalised economy. The soft rates in tax havens like Ireland, Switzerland and Singapore had them declaring profits from low tax rate locations. No surprise that Ireland is the European headquarters of companies including Google, Facebook and Apple.

Tax policies do not get equated with trade policies and pacts where multilateralism brings economic benefits to members and as more countries join, the size of trade increases. With a global minimum tax however, it is not so. Here the economic benefits shift to countries that stay out of the pact. Should developed nations tie their hands on corporate taxes, China would leverage tax rates to lure more investment. Today may look to be a beginning for equitable sharing of taxes, but a win-win outcome in a bipolar dispensation is hard task. Unless zealously driven, the issue could well taper off when political winds change in the US, the prime mover.

Navi Mumbai

Apropos ‘People-centricity of the IT Sector’ (June, 7), the reason for the industry’s resilience is its ‘perform or perish’ ethos. Unlike in government employment, there is no job reservation, lifelong employment, or emphasis on seniority, in the IT sector. With the growth of the employees inevitably tied to that of the company, there is very little scope for office politics, gossip, favouritism and nepotism. The workforce knows only too well that to retain their jobs and stay relevant, they need to constantly upgrade their skills.

Amidst the Covid lockdowns, the IT employees have admirably adopted the new norm of remote working to ensure productivity. Besides taking care of themselves and their families, they have also been contributing their bit to the society, by collaborating with state governments and NGOs in the pandemic control. The Indian IT professionals are held in high esteem worldwide, for their technical knowledge and professional competence. It is up to the government to involve them in saving the nation from further waves of the pandemic, by the use of AI and other data analytic tools.

Chennai

The Delhi government’s scheme to deliver ration at door step is a progressive measure. But why is the Centre acting as a impediment rather than giving a green signal for its implementation.

Door delivery of rations will surely avert rampant black-marketing and hoarding. Moreover, this would also ensure that the rations reach the actual beneficiaries. Furthermore, if the scheme is successful, it can be launched on a large scale with more State governments following suit.

Noida

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